‘Are You CRAZY?!’ ESPN’s JJ Redick Flips His Lid at Mike Greenberg’s Suggestion That the Lakers Actually Sit Their Top Stars in a Playoff Game

Ahmad Austin Jr.May 10th, 2023, 12:32 pm
 

ESPN analyst and former NBA player JJ Redick was livid with the conversation about the Los Angeles Lakers potentially resting their starters in a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors.

The idea was first brought up by Mike Greenberg on Tuesday.

“On Greeny’s show, they’re talking about resting the Lakers’ starters in a 3-1 series?” Redick said on First Take on Wednesday. “Are you crazy?! Are you crazy?! I lost a series to the Houston Rockets up 3-1. You gotta put them away! You gotta put them away!”

After the Lakers won Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead, Greenberg suggested on Get Up on Tuesday morning that the Lakers essentially give the Warriors Game 5. His argument was that the Warriors — the reigning NBA champions with their backs against the wall — wouldn’t possibly lose Game 5 at home. That being the case, he continued, the Lakers would unnecessarily risk injuries having their stars play in a game they’re virtually guaranteed to lose.

Redick also called out the hypocrisy of complaining about load management in the regular season just to advocate for it in the postseason.

“We’re talking about playoff workload, minutes in the playoffs. What are we doing here?!” Redick said. “You complain all season long about load management, and we get to the playoffs and guys play 40 minutes, and you get mad! What?! You can’t have it both ways!”

It was an interesting morning for Greenberg. In addition to making that suggestion, he also parroted the idea that the Knicks were struggling against the Miami Heat because of Miami’s warm weather.

Watch above via ESPN

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